• by Tyler Loechner  @mp_tyler, July 23, 2013

In an effort to make the real-time bidding (RTB) exchanges more accessible to developers, entrepreneurs, and overseas companies, self-serve media buying platform SiteScout this morning launched an open source application program interface (API) for RTB. SiteScout CEO and Founder Paul Mokbel told RTM Daily that a user needs to sign up at SiteScout before downloading the API, but after that it is all open source. Mokbel said that the API can be linked with the SiteScout RTB platform, which is connected to "all of the major exchanges."

"There's a ton of opportunities out there in RTB, and we're not able to capitalize on everything," Mokbel said, citing scale as the issue. "But our platform is able to do everything, so the idea behind the API is to let other companies build on top of our existing infrastructure." He added, "We benefit. They benefit. The whole ecosystem benefits."

Ratko Vidakovic, director of marketing at SiteScout, told RTM Daily that he anticipates international markets using the API to build localized demand-side platforms (DSPs) for their regions. "A lot of the demand we've gotten has come from international markets," he said. "They want local-specific solutions." Anyone using the API can build custom dashboards and interfaces, so it will be easy for companies from around the world to make it work for them.

Both Mokbel and Vidakovic believe that their open API for RTB is the first of its kind, although they did mention AppNexus's API as the closet comparable example. What makes SiteScout's option unique, they argued, is that their API can be used however a client desires, while AppNexus' API is "meant for very specific uses," such as "plumbing for sell-side platforms (SSPs) and DSPs."

Vidakovic told RTM Daily that another part of the API is an "open source canvas" created for developers. He said that SiteScout offered this to "give customers a canvas to work with." He added, "We encourage them to steal code from it to get them off on the right foot."

In a company blog post announcing the news, SiteScout answers FAQs about their API, such as how it works and how to access it.